R.U.R.
(Rossum's Universal Robots)
by Karel Čapek
based on the translation by Nigel Playfair & Paul Selver
FALL 2024
at the Capitol hill arts workshop
The Original Robot Apocalypse Story. Really.
Humans have invented intelligent robots that look just like them to do all their menial tasks. That is, until the robots revolt. Who saw that one coming? Famous for being the first use of the word “robot”—this play invented all the tropes.
Rossum has developed a method to create human-like robots, and a factory is built on a remote island to crank out enough robots to meet demand. Around the world, robots quickly replace humans in what are considered menial tasks: assembly lines, domestic labor, secretarial work, etc. A young woman journeys to the island to free the robots, but in her naive enthusiasm, becomes deeply embroiled in the fate of the robots, and ultimately, the fate of the human race. R.U.R. is a sci-fi melodrama before the genre existed.
REVIEWS
"An absolute delight…an invigorating take on an overlooked classic. It is a fun, terrifying, and completely unique production." - Maryland Theatre Guide
"Director Matt Reckeweg has taken great care with every aspect of the production." - DC Theatre Arts
DIRECTED BY
Matt Reckeweg
FEATURING
Made Key, Paige O'Malley, Emilia Pazniokas, Andrew Quilpa, Matthew Sparacino, Shaquille Stewart, and Scott Whalen
DESIGN
Makenzi Wentela (stage management)
Kerry McGee (producing)
Keith Hock (production management)
Jason Aufdem-Brinke (lighting design)
Madi Wentela (assistant lighting design)
Amy Bormet (original music composition)
Mike Winch (sound design)
Matt Reckeweg (set design)
Lee Gerstenhaber (costume design)
Jaimee Fricklas (technical direction)
Robert Pike (fight choreography)
Emily Sucher (intimacy direction)
Keith Hock (dramaturgy)
Todd Hilgert (graphic design)